Dino Saga 070114 _ Small Ferrari, Light & Stiff

Dino Saga 070114 _ Small Ferrari, Light & Stiff

Now the fun begins. Take the body first. Dino started out in aluminum, 2000 lbs. Go back and save pounds. Problem with aluminum has always been joining panels. Forming is easy. Welding is not. Until Friction Stir Welding. Eclipse light jets are stir welded and life is pretty good. Butt all joints in a jig. Run a high RPM rod down the center of the butt. Friction softens both sides as it moves. Softened aluminum welds behind the rod and you have a flush finish weld, same alloy, no distortion, no cleanup. Smooth curves are no problem. Dino is smooth. Of course panels could be done in carbon. Cost would be the question as would repairability. Lots to be said for just banging a dent back out.

Front and rear should be molded in flex plastic with a nice steel insert that can actually take some force. Dino bumpers are decoration only. Sides have no support other than body so any side load bends the body. Bad. Headlights have always been a problem with the Dino and the reason is the lowness of the fenders. Modern Xenon arc lights could take the height up about 4” which would do wonders. The tighter, brighter beams would help too. Actually the Dino is fine with high beams, it is the low ones that hit the ground 50 feet in front of the car. That is where the 4” does its thing. Smaller lights make full streamlining of the lights a natural and there is another mph or two.

Car does not need any more openings and a few could be made smaller. Dino radiator size is fine. Modern fans move lots more air. Forget the AC condenser in front of the engine radiator. Forget the AC. Lighting rules have changed so all signaling could be flush. Belly pan could be aluminum. Fiberglass is not lighter even though it is tougher. Don’t need toughness unless you are Rallying in dirt. If you are, change the pan.

Now to the chassis. If you take a look at the open spaces between body and chassis, there is lots of room to add stiffness. Enough to make a Spyder with rear quarter windows. Lots to be said for welded steel tubing. Stiffness is proportional to the diameter of the tubes. Dino tubes are small. Critical area is between front and rear bulkheads, under the doors. That area is empty. Vacuum line on the left, heater line on the right. Bulkheads could be extended to the side, larger or even shaped tubes could go just outboard of the seats. Lines could still go through their bores. Front and rear suspension structure is pretty good. Upper cross tube in rear could be stiffer and be removed easier. From engine side.

Cat converters would have to be put next to mufflers and heat under trunk would increase. An Al/foam/Al sandwich would make a good floor. Then carpet. Interior panels could be carbon/epoxy. Lighter than glass fiber. Rigid foam backing could add stiffness to floor panels, etc. Glass fiber stone guards are great. The weight (mass) is a plus. Doors should be heavy enough to feel solid when closed. Latches should be just like the Dino’s. One finger to open can’t be beat. Use key locks. Three rear hatch latches, right on, as is. Can select by feel. Hood latch stays under dash. Emergency brake between seats. Done!

Next time I’ll take a look at the engine and transmission. Skiing was great.

John
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